This is it, ladies and friends of ladies and sluts and caterpillars and Vagina-Americans and "other people." This is the last weekend, the final big push, before Election Day. I've asked nicely, I've cajoled, I've pleaded—now I'm just going to outright beg. Because we have a war to win and no time to waste.
Remember this?
A war is coming.
Congressional Republicans have already made clear that their top priority, once they take control of Congress in the next session, is to make sure President Obama is a one-term president.
But there is a second priority that many Republicans in Congress, and in state legislatures around the country, have promised to pursue: the further restriction of women's reproductive rights.
That was the warning I gave on Jan. 2, 2011, as the Republicans took control of the House. Some of their plans were known to us: fetal pain laws, personhood laws, defunding Planned Parenthood. We knew that they would be focused on their singular obsession. Rep. Joe Pitts (R-PA), as the chairman of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, boasted that he had "made the protection of the sanctity of innocent human life the cornerstone of his service in the House," and promised to further pursue that agenda.
But even for those of us who are well-versed in the war waged on women since long before 2011, the Republicans' full-blown assault was far worse than we could have imagined. The following is but a sample of the 67 abortion bills introduced this session:
It wasn't just an assault on reproductive rights, though. Oh, no. They also
fought against the Paycheck Fairness Act, because while Republicans will give lip service to the idea of equal pay, they don't really support it. Mitt Romney has said, during this election season, that women's real concern is having more flex time so they can rush home to cook dinner for their families. Equal pay? Nah.
Republicans fought against renewal of the Violence Against Women Act too. Why? Because they don't believe violence against immigrants, lesbians and Native American women is a problem. Those women don't deserve protection, according to Republicans. As with their shifting definitions of rape, some victims of domestic violence aren't really victims, so screw 'em.
And let's not even get started on the conversation about rape—forcible rape, legitimate rape, easy rape, honest rape, emergency rape, rape thing rape, gift-from-God rape. Who knows what kind of some-rape-is-not-really-that-bad rape they'll think up next?
So what do Republicans have in store for us if they are victorious on Election Day? Romney has already promised he will get rid of Planned Parenthood. His running mate is devoted to cutting basic assistance to poor women and their children because he thinks that's what the Bible says. And congressional Republicans are only too eager to continue their War on Women. 
Are we going to let them? That's the question we face just days before the election. Are we going to let them continue their war or are we going to say no—hell, no!—and put a stop to it?
For two years, this series has tracked the weekly offenses and assaults by Republicans against women—also known by some Republicans as "other people" or "caterpillars" or "sluts."
This is our time to stop them. This is our chance to send a message that their war has consequences. We will take them out of power, we will send more of us to Washington to fight back, and though we still have many battles ahead, we are awake, we are watching, we are mad as hell, we are fighting back, and we will win.
Please donate to each of our Daily Kos-endorsed women candidates for the House and Senate, so we can send more, better women to Congress to fight back against the Republicans' War on Women.
